Spike-machine.



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SPIKE MACHINE.

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SPIKE MACHINE.

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$3M: his Qfioznegy) I No. 645,195. Patented Mar. l3, i900. G. E. VANDEGBIFT.

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No. 645,|95. Patented Mar. l3, I900.

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XSPIKE MACHINE.

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3511 his flttozmwo No. 645,195. Patented mar. l3, I900.

G. E. VAINDEGRIFTK SPIKE MACHINE.

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UNITED STATES.

PATENT GEORGE E. VANDEGRIFT, OF JOLIET, ILLINOIS.

SPIKE-MACHINE.

I SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 645,195, dated March 13, 1900.

Application filed September 18, 1899. Serial No. 730,808. (No model.)

To (bl Z whmit it may concern;

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. VANDE- GRIFT, a citizen of the United States, residing such a full, clear, and exact description as will enable any one skilled in the art to which to the trade as railroad-spikes.

it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

My invention relates to improvements in spike-machines operated by power; and its object is to improve upon the construction of machines for manufacturing what are known Such a spike is pointed at one end, so that it can be driven into the wooden tie, and has a head projecting mostly to one side for the purpose of securing the rail upon the tie. Numerous difficulties have been encountered heretofore in the manufacture of such a spike. tVith most previous machines it has been necessary to re-dress the points. The length of spike has also been very irregular, some spikes coming out of the machine considerably longer or shorter than the average. Another objection has been that the spike turned out was often cracked under the head or on top of the head, and the head very often was set over sidewise on the body of the spike, and hence a large part of the product was second grade and scrap. Machines made heretofore have been of such complicated construction as to prevent their being run night and day continuously. The crude method of manufacture produced a product that was defective by reason of the fins left on the point of the grade of product.

Another object of my invention is to decrease the cost of production and to make a machine capable of running on double turn 11. 6., almost continuously day and night without stopping.

Having the above objects in view, my invention consists in various novel features and details of construction, all of which are def scribed in the following specification and pointed out in the claims afiixed hereto.

In the accompanying drawings,which illustrate one form of machine made in accordance with my invention, Figure l is a top plan view of the complete machine. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section in the line 2 2 of Fig. 1, showing the gripping-lever in position to hold the bar against the die, the header in position to form the head, and the kickers below the die before the spike is completed and ready to be thrown out. Fig. 3 is a side elevation looking from the left at Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a side elevation looking at the right at Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is an end elevation looking at the bottom of Fig. 1. Fig. 6 is an end elevation looking at the top of Fig. 1. Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7 7 of Fig. 1,with some of the parts omitted for the purpose of showing the hand-lever and mechanism for throwing out the cam from under the gripping-lever. Fig. 8 is a detail of the relief-spring securing the gripping-lever. Fig. 9 isa section on the line 9 9 of Fig. 7, illustrating the mechanism for throwing out the cam. Fig. lOis a detail of the power-shaft. Fig. 11 is a section on the line 11 ll of Fig. 1, some of the parts being omitted. Fig. 12 is a plan view of the machine, some of the parts being omitted. Fig. 13 is a detail of the lever operating the kicker. Fig. 14 is a plan of the header with the headertool removed. Fig. 15 is a section on the line 15 15 of Fig. 14. Fig. 16 is a view of the lever which operates the header. Fig. 17 is a section on the line 17 17 of Fig. 16. Fig. 18 is a taper-pin for the connection of the header to the lever. Fig. 19 is an end view of the arch-bar which carries the lower end of the header. Fig. 20 is a section on the'line 2O 20 of Fig. 19. Fig. 21 is a detail of the journal-bearing shown in Fig. 20. Fig. 22 is a detail of the cap shown in Fig 20. Fig. 23 is a side view of the ratchet mechanism for driving the roll-shaft. Fig. 24; is an end View of the ratchet-frame. Fig. 25 is a section on the line 25 25 of Fig. 23, showing one of the ing.

'the machine.

pins in position. Fig. 26 is a section on the line 26 26 of Fig. 23 with the pins removed. Fig. 27 is a View of the pawl for the ratchet mechanism. Fig. 28 is a View of the ratchet. Fig. 29 is a view of the spring for the ratchetpawl. Fig. 30 is a side View of the connecting-rod for driving the ratchet. Fig. 31is partly a side elevation and partly a section on the line 31 31 of Fig. 30. Fig. 32 is a plan of the connecting-rod and relief-spring for operating the header. Fig. 33 is a section on the line 33 33 of Fig. 32. Fig. 34 is an end view looking at Fig. 33 from the left. Fig. 35 is a transverse section on the line 35 35 of Fig. 33. Fig. 36 is a side elevation of the side and end frames with all operating mechanism removed. Fig. 37 is a plan of the fram Fig. 38 is a side view of the end frame shown at the left of Fig. 36. Fig. 39 is an end view of the same looking from within Fig. 40 is a plan of the same. Fig. 41 is a side elevation of the end frame shown at the right of Fig. 36. Fig. 42 is an end View of the same looking from within the machine. Fig. 43 isa plan of thesame. Fig. 44 is a side view of the finished spike. Fig. 45 is a view looking at the right of Fig.

44, and Fig. 46 is a top plan view of the spike.

Like marks of reference refer to similar parts in the several views of the drawings.

Referring particularly to Figs. 36 to 43 of the drawings, 1 and 2 indicate the end frames and 3 the side frames, all of which when bolted together constitute the base and supporting-framework of my invention.

Certain novel features are embodied in the framework. In Fig. .37, 1 and 2 show end which the whole machine is built.

frames by means of keys 8. This construction forms a frame which is perfectly rigid, so thatshould the foundation at one end begin to give way at any place there would be no settling of the machine unless the whole Y end of themachine wentdown together, which would in no wise interfere with the relative positions of the two side frames, and therefore would not affect the aline-ment of shafting or the relative position of otheroperatin g parts.

In Fig. 4, 9 is the driving-shaft, carrying the pulley 10, secured by the key 11. The driving-shaft 9, Fig. 12, carries a cam 12, secured to the shaft by set-screws 13. Said cam is for the purpose of operating thek-icke r. The driving-shaft also carries a cam 14, Fig. 7, which can slide along the shaft, but is constrained to rotate with the shaft by the feather I or key 15 and is held in position under the gripping-lever by means of the forked lever 154, to be hereinafter described. This cam operates the gripping-lever. The drivingshaft is enlarged at one end, forming the disk 16, Fig. 10, to which is secured the wrist-pin 17. I have found that in machines of this class a large shaft should be used to insure sufficient strength, and a large wrist-pin should be used in order to secure wearingsurface and strength. The header-motion, operated by the crank, requires only a short arm, so short, in fact, that the pin-circle overlaps the shaft-circle, or, in other words, the pin is partially embedded in the shaft. I

overcome this di-fliculty by making the disk and shaft in one piece, as shown in Fig. 10.

In Fig. 2, 18 is the gripping-lever, carried by the shaft 19, to which it is secured by the key 20. At one end of the gripping-lever, direetly over the cam, are two straps 21, one on each side of. the lever, secured at the top by the bolt 22. For the bolt '24- the bolt-hole in the gripping-lever is formed into a slot 23,

whose sides form an arc of a circle with radius to bolt 22. This arrangement forms a very convenient adjustment for the straps to adjust the machineto the right time. .Into the lower extremity of the straps is secured a spindle 25 by means of the key 26, and upon this spindle runs the wheel 27, which rests .u pon the cam 14. The other end of the gripping-lever carries the gripping-tool 28, secured by keys 29 and a set-screw 30. hen the cam 14 rotates, the wheel 27 runs upon its surface, communicating an oscillatory motion to the gripping-lever, causing the gripping-tool to come down upon the die 31 every time the driving-shaft 9 makes a revolution. The die .31 is supported by a die-block 32. The successful operation of this gripping-lever is due in part to the guides.33, secured to the side-frames by the bolts 34, as shown in Fig. 9. The guides 33 are supplied with bearings 35, secured by bolts 36.

In Fig. 33,.37is-tl1e connecting-rod between the driving-shaft wrist-pin 17 and the main rock-arm 43 for the header mechanism.

In Fig. 33, 37 shows the ends of the connecting-rod,-with their straps, boxes, b.olts,&c. 38.and 187 show the shrouds forming the enlarged ends of the connecting-rod ends, their pu rpose being to form areceptacle for the ends of the compression-spring 39. The shrouds 38 and 187 are drawn together by the bolts 40, putting the spring under compression. When the desired compression is reached, the lock-nut 41 is screwed .up and secured by the split pin 42. The spring is under a compression which is .su'ificiently great to transmit any ordinarypressu re required to operate the machine; but if forany reason the operating pressure becomes excessive the shroud 187, guided by the bolts 40, presses the spring down against the shroud 38, the compression of the spring not offering sufficient resistance to allow the strai-ns becoming abnormal. It is thusseen that the connecting-rod 37 is ordinarily of normal and unchanginglength, but

that in case of emergency, as when several spikes or blanks get between header and die, the spring compresses, allowing the connecting-rod to shorten up under the heavy strain and make more room between the headerand die.

The main rock-arm 43, Fig. 3, for driving the header mechanism is carried on the shaft 44, to which it is secured by the key 45. At the upper extremity of the main rock-arm 43 is the wrist-pin 46, which engages the connecting-rod 37. At its lower extremity is the wrist-pin 47, which engages the connectingrod 149 for driving the ratchet 143 of the cutter mechanism.

In Fig. 2 the padlock-lever 48 is shown secured to the shaft 44 by means of the key 49. A side view of the padlock-lever 48 is shown in Fig. 16 and a sectional view in Fig. 17.

In Fig. 2 the header 53 engages the padlocklever 48 by means of the pin 50. (Shown more in detail in Fig. 18.) The pin is tapered to fit the cone-seats of the padlock-1ever48 and has a washer 51, nut 52, and split pin 53. For connection to this pin the header 53 has bearings 54, set-screw 55', and lock-nut 56. The header carries a header-tool 57, held fast by a set-screw 58. The hole 59, Fig. 15, for the reception of the header-tools has an opening at the top of the header for the insertion of liners for the purpose of adjusting the headertool to the right distance from the die. The lower end of the header is. secured to the spindle' by means of the set-screw 61. The projecting ends of the shaft 60 form trunnions free to turn in bearings at the upper extremity of the arch-bar 62.

63 is the half-brass on the lower side of the bearing, and 64 is a tap-hole in'the same for the purpose of effecting its removal when necessary.

65 is an end plate secured to the arch-bar by means of the bolts 66.

67 are set-screws for adjusting the position of the spindle, and consequently the header, with relation to the arch-bar. The set-screws 67 screw up against the friction-plates 68 and are held by lock-nuts 69.

In Fig. 2, 70 is the shaft that'carrie's the arch-bar 62, to which it is secured by means of the key 71.

72 are the bearings for the shaft 70. Bearings 72 are held in place by means of bolts 73, washer-plate 74, and nuts 75.

In Fig. 1 the shaft 70 is adjusted endwise by means of the set-screws 76, tapped into brackets 77 and locked with nuts 78.

79 are stud-bolts projecting from the side frames 3 for holding the brackets 77, which are held fast by means of nuts 80 and washers 81.

It sometimes occurs that several blanks get between the gripping-tool and die, producing a great strain upon the machine, in which case either the gripping-lever 18, its shaft 19, or one of the side frames, or both of them, would be liable to break.

As a safeguard against accidents of this kind, I use a reliefspring 82. (Shown in Fig. 8.) The lower bearing 83 is set in the frame 3, and the upper bearing 84 rests upon the top of the shaft 19. The upper part of the top bearing 84 is cupped out to hold the spring 82. The spring 82 is compressed by the cap 85, which is held down by bolts 86 and nuts 87. The cap is screwed down, putting the spring 82 under compression suflicient to hold the shaft 19 in normal position during the ordinary operation of the machine; but should several blanks or spikes get under the gripping-tool a heavy thrust is brought upon the grippinglever tending to raisethe bearings. The spring I is then compressed, allowing the upper bearin g 84 to rise with increased pressure. relieved by a normal increase of pressure, the strain is thus prevented from becoming abnormal.

The shaft 44, Fig. 36, is supported by bearings 89 in the side frames 3 and secured by caps 90, held down by bolts 91, with keys 92 and nuts 93. At the end opposite the main rock-arm the shaft 44 carries the adjusterlever 94, Fig. 4. Upon the extreme upper portion of the adjuster-lever 94 is the lug 96. (Shown in Fig. 1.)

In Fig. 4 through the lug 96 passes the vertical spindle 97, which can be disengaged by the removal of the bolts 98 and caps 99. The spindle 97 is constrained from vertical movement by means of collars 100 on each side of the lug 96. On top of the spindle-97 is the hand-wheel 101. The lower portion of the spindle 97 is threaded, forming the screw 102.

The adjuster-lever 94 for nearly its entire length forms a guide for the vertical movement of the plate 103, held to the lever 94 in V-grooves. At the upper extremity of the plate 103 is the lug 104, tapped for the screw 102. By turning the hand Wheel 101 the plate is raised and lowered. At is lower extremity the plate 103 carries the wrist-pin 105, which engages the connecting-rod 106, which also engages the pin 107 on the lever 108, which is secured to the shaft 109 by means of the key 110.

In Fig. 36 the shaft 109 is supported by bearings 111 in the side frames 3 and secured by caps 112, held down by bolts 113, with keys 114 and nuts 115.

As shown in Fig. 2, the nipper-lever 116 is secured to the shaft 109 by means of a key 117.

By means of the wrist-pin 118 and the connecting-rod 119 the oscillatory motion of the lever is communicated to the upper plate 120, Fig. 1, upon which are fastened the pins 121, that work in slots in the nippers122. The nippers 122 are secured by bolts 123 to a guideplate 124, running in guides 125. The function of the nippers is to carry the hot blank from the cutters and place it upon the die.

In Fig. 1, 126 are the cutters. They are equipped with cutter-tools upon their peripheries and have an intermittent motion, turning part way around for every revolution of Being I the other, as shown in Fig. 2, and their cutter-tools engage one another in the central plane of the machine on a level slightly above the surface of the die, the distance equal to one-half the thickness of the bar fed to the machine. The function of these cutters is to cut and point the bar into blanks of proper length to form spikes. The upper cutter 126 is carried on the shaft 127 and the lower cutter on the shaft 128, as shown in Fig. 2. The two cutters turn together by means of the spur-gears 129. (Shown in Fig. 4.)

In Fig. 1 the shafts 127 and 128 are adjusted endwise by means of the set-screws 130, secured against washers 131 and held fast by lock-nuts 132. The set-screws 130 are tapped into brackets 133, secured to the side frames 3 by the bolts 134.

In Fig. 36 the shafts 127 and 128 run in journal-bearings 135, separated by a liner 136 and held down by caps 137, secured to the side frames 3 by means of stud-bolts 138 and gripping-lever.

nuts 139'.

The shaft 128 is driven by the ratchet mechanism. (Shown in Fig. 23.) 140 is the ratchet-frame; 141, the pins, and 142 the pawl, which is pressed against the ratch et-wheel 143 by means of the spring 144. The ratchetwheel 143 is secured to the shaft 128 by means of the key 145. The pin 141 is secured in the ratchet-frame 140 by means of the nut 146, washer 147, and split pin 148. The ratchet mechanism is rocked back and forth by the engagement of the lower pin with the connecting-rod 149. (Shown in Fig. 3 and more particularly in Figs. 30 and 31.)

On account of the adjustment of the cutter-tools it is necessary to run the cuttershafts 127 and 128 out of square with the central plane of the machine. In Fig. 31 the bearings of the connecting-rod 149 are therefore beveled outwardly from the center on both sides, forming a bore shaped like a hollow double truncated cone. The bearings are in two pieces and adjustment effected by means of the set-screw'151 and lock-nut 152. This device makes a perfect contact-surface between the connecting-rod bearings and the ratchet-pin and makes it mechanically in line. The other end of the connecting-rod 149 engages the wrist-pin 47 on the main rock-arm 43, from which it derives its motion, as shown in Fig. 3.

The size of the ratchet-wheel and the number of teeth are so proportioned that with the rocking motion communicated from the main rock-arm 43 by the connecting-rod 149 the pawl slips a single tooth at a time, so that it is essential to have as many cutter-tools on the periphery of the cutter as there are teeth in the ratchet-wheel.

In Fig. 7, 14 is the cam for operating the The cam 14 is shown again in Fig. 9, the hub being of sufficient length to be grooved, as at ,153. The forked lever 154 has two pins 155, one on each side, which engage in the groove 153. The lever 154 is pivoted to the bracket 156 by the pin 157.

In Fig. 7, 158 is the handle on the lever 159 operating the rod 160, which is supported at the handle end by the bracket 161. The' other end of the rod 160 is supported by the bracket 162. At the end of the rod 160 is secured the lever 163. (Shown more clearlyin Fig. 9.) The lever 163 engages the link 164 by means of the pin 165, and the link 164 engages the forked lever 154 by means of the pin 166.

In Fig. 7 when the cam 14 has turned far enough to bring the gripping-lever 18 into its lowest position the gripping-lever 18 rests upon the guide-bracket 33, so that at its smallest curvature the cam 14 falls away from the roller 27. When in this position, the cam is free to slide along the shaft, and by moving the hand-lever 158 the cam is easily thrown out and the gripping-lever stopped.

In Fig. 12 the cam 12, secured to the shaft 9 by the set-screws 13, has a groove 167 all the way around, with a single wave or dip 168. In this groove 167 runs a small roller 169, carried by a pin 170 at the end of the lever 171, as shown in Fig. 13. The lever 171 is fast upon the shaft 1'72, which is supported from the side frame 3 by the bracket 173. The other end of the shaft is supported from the side frame 3 by the bracket 174. This end of the shaft carries the kicker -lever 175, which is forked at the upper extremity, forming two rods that pass up through holes in the die-block.

The rod 176 nearest the header is for the purpose of throwing out the finished spike when released by the gripping-lever.

The rod 177 is for the purpose of throwing out the stub ends, for when a long rod of hot metal is fed into the cutters it generally occurs that the last blank is too short to form a spike and is left on the die close to the head end, too close to be thrown out by the kicker proper, so an auxiliary kicker has to be provided.

The kicker is' properly timed by shifting the cam on the shaft until the proper position is determined, so that when the gripping-lever has left the die for some little distance, making room for the free passage of the spike, the kicker throws it out and it falls into the pit. The cam is then permanentlysecured to the shaft by means of the set-screws 13.

In Fig. 44, 178 is the head of the spike, 179 is the body of the spike, and 180 is the point of the spike. On one side of the body 179 the head 178 projects to form the lip 181, that engages the flange of the rail. The point 180 is also set off somewhat from the central line.

of the body, owing to the fact that the sledge used to drive the spike is swung to clear the rail and strikes to one side at 183.

In Fig. 45, 184 shows the sides of the head symmetrical with regard to the body of the spike. The point 185 is made flat, so as to drive without splitting the tie.

The hot bar being fed into the machine, the point (shown at 180 and 185) is formed by the cutters 126. The nippers come up, get the blank, and put it in the die. The grippingtool 28 takes hold of the body of the spike 179. The head 178 is forged by the header-tool 57, the lip 181 forming against the die 31 and the lip 186 forming against the gripping-tool 28.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

Power being thrown on at the pulley 10 and the machine getting under motion, the rotary motion of the main shaft is communicated by the crank 16 and connecting-rod 37 to the main rock-arm 43, giving it an oscillatory motion, and by the connecting-rod 14:9 to the ratchet mechanism 140, driving the lower rollshaft 128 and through the spur-gears 129 the upper roll-shaft 127, causing a simultaneous and intermittent rotation of the cutters 126. The hot metal bar of which the spikes are to be made being fed into the cutters, the blanks are cut off and pointed and laid upon the die. The motion of the main rock-arm 43 is transmitted by the shaft 44 to the adjuster-lever 94 and by the connecting-rod 106 to the lever 108 and the shaft 109 and from the shaft 109 to the lever 116, which further transmits the motion by means of the connecting-rods 119 to the nipper-plate 120, and hence to the nippers 122 through the pins 121. When the nippers are pulled back by pins 121, working in slots in the nippers 122, it causes them to come together and take hold of the blank lying upon the die and a further motion of the nippers lays the blank down in its proper position upon the die. At this moment the grippinglever comes down and presses the blank into the die, leaving enough of the blank projecting over to form the head. Motion is given by the shaft 44 to the padlock-lever and the header 53, which carries the header-tool 57, which now comes up and heads the spike. The gripping-lever now ascends, releasing its hold upon the spike, the header recedes, and when clear the kickers come up through the die, striking the spike toward the point,

throwing it up and back into the space occupied but a moment before by the grippinglever and header, whence it falls by its own weight into a pan below, which leads to a conveyer.

I am aware that many changes maybe made in the form and construction of my machine without departing from the spirit of my in vention, and therefore do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the form shown and described.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

1. In a spike-machine,the combination with a die, of a gripping-lever, a cam, a member pivotally mounted on said gripping-lever for cooperating with said cam to actuate said lever, and means for adjusting said pivotallymounted member to vary the time of the operation of said gripping-lever.

2. In a spike-machine,the combination with a die, of a gripping-lever, a cam, two arms pivotally mounted on said gripping-lever, a roller carried between the ends of said arms for cooperating with said cam, and means for adjusting said arms to vary the time of operation of said gripping-lever.

3. In a spike-machine,the combination with to said rigid supports, and means for adjusting the tension of said springs.

5. In a spike-machine,the combination with a die, of a gripping device, a heading device, a rock-shaft for actuating said heading device, a main shaft for actuating said rockshaft, a connecting-rod between the said main shaft and rock-shaft, and a spring interposed in said connecting-rod.

6. In a spike-machine,the combination with a die, of a gripping device, a heading device, a rock-shaft for actuating said heading device, a main shaft for actuating said rockshaft, a connecting-rod between the said main shaft and rock-shaft, a spring interposed in said connecting-rod, and means for adjusting the tension of said spring.

7. In a s'pike-machine,the combination with a die, of gripping devices, a header, means for reciprocating said header, an arch-bar carrying said header, and means for adjusting said header laterally in said arch-bar.

8. In aspike-machine',the combinationwith a die, of gripping devices, a header, means for reciprocating said header, an arch-bar carrying said header, and means for adjusting said arch-bar laterally.

9. In aspike-machine,the combination with a die, of gripping devices, a header, an arch bar carrying said header, means for adjusting said header laterally in said arch-bar, and means for adjusting said arch-bar laterally.

10. In a spike-machine, the combination with a feeding device, of a die-block, a gripping-lever to grip the heated blank from which the spike is to be formed, a header-tool for forming the head upon the spike, nippers for placing the blank in position, a kicker for removing the spikes, an auxiliary kicker for removing short ends, and means for operating said kickers.

11. In a spike-machine, the combination of a feeding attachment; die-block; grippinglever to grip the heated blank from which the spike is to be formed; a header-tool for forming the head upon the spike; an arch-bar, nippers for placing the blank in position; and

means for taking up the wear in the upper bearings of the arch-bar 62, consisting of a replaceable half-box tapered upon the bottom, fitting to a like taper Within said arch- 5 bar.

12. In a spike-machine, the combination with a (lie, of a gripping-lever, a cam for operating said gripping-lever, said cam being arranged to become disengaged from said gripping-lever at one point in its travel, and 10 means for moving" said eain laterally.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto setmy hand in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

GEO. E. VANDEGRIFT.

Witnesses:

W. A. ALEXANDER, DAVID STANNARD. 

